Bubenchik pleads guilty to sex charge as part of plea deal

Monday

Dec 30, 2013 at 2:28 PM

A plea deal involving two rape charges did not add prison time to the sentence of Steven Bubenchik. The Massillon man was recently sentenced to 48 years in prison on charges stemming from gunshots he fired at police.

CantonRep.com staff report

A plea deal dropped one rape charge and reduced another to sexual imposition for Steven P. Bubenchik on Monday in Stark County Common Pleas Court.

Bubenchik was recently sentenced to 48 years in prison for charges related to shooting at Massillon police officers in August.

A jury found him guilty Dec. 12 of five of seven counts, including attempted murder and three counts of felonious assault and accompanying firearm specifications. He was acquitted of two attempted murder charges related to the shooting.

Massillon police responded to his Geiger Avenue SW home Aug. 8 after his estranged wife called saying her husband was suicidal.

During trial testimony, Bubenchik claimed he did not know police officers had entered his home when he fired what he described as a warning shot at an intruder from the top of his stairs. He continued to shoot at police from an upstairs window. Police did not fire a shot in return.

SEXUAL IMPOSITION

The two rape charges originally were filed with the other counts because the rape allegations came to light the day Bubenchik shot at police, said Lisa Turoso, an assistant prosecutor.

However, the rape charges were handled separately in court at the request of the defense.

Bubenchik, 40, was accused of sexually assaulting two young children. However, the Stark County prosecutor's office agreed to the lesser charge of sexual imposition — a third-degree misdemeanor — so the children would not have to testify at a trial, Turoso said.

The charge involves unwanted sexual contact that occurred both in Massillon and Canton in 2012 and 2013, Turoso said.

The mother of the children was in support of the plea agreement, according to the prosecutor's office. Another factor was that Bubenchik could spend the rest of his life in prison on the charges related to shooting at police, Turoso said.

DIFFERENT JUDGE

Judge John Haas sentenced Bubenchik to 60 days in jail on the sexual imposition charge; it will run concurrently with the prison term. If released from prison, Bubenchik would have to register as a sexual offender annually for 15 years.

Haas handled the case Monday because Judge Taryn Heath was off sick. Heath told the defense and prosecution she was in support of the plea deal via a phone conference.

During the court hearing, Bubenchik answered questions softly, with Haas at one point asking him to speak louder.

The defendant did not make a statement in court. No relatives of Bubenchik or the victims attended the hearing.

Barry Wakser, of the Stark County public defender's office, represented Bubenchik. He declined comment following Monday's hearing.